New Shell Hydrogen Fuelling Station Opened at Beaconsfield

27th March 2018

ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, notes the announcement by Shell that the hydrogen refuelling station – the first ‘under the canopy’ in the UK – at Beaconsfield Services on the M40 has opened today. This new hydrogen refuelling station, situated at one of the busiest service stations in the UK, will be fully owned and operated by ITM Power. The text of the announcement by Shell is set out below:

SHELL AND ITM POWER BOOST UK HYDROGEN INFRASTRUCTURE WITH NEW FUELLING STATION AT BEACONSFIELD

Beaconsfield site is UK’s first ‘under the canopy’ Hydrogen refuelling station

LONDON, UK, 27 March 2018 – Today, Shell has announced the opening of a new hydrogen refuelling station at Shell Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire. Supplied by ITM Power, this opening follows the launch of the first fully branded and public hydrogen refuelling site in the UK at Shell Cobham in February 2017.

Situated at one of the UK’s busiest service stations, Shell Beaconsfield on the M40 will be the first site in the UK to bring hydrogen under the same canopy as petrol and diesel, providing drivers with a range of fuel choices to co-exist with traditional transport fuels. The hydrogen is generated on-site using an electrolyser that requires only water and electricity to generate the hydrogen gas.

Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles convert hydrogen into electricity to power the engine and produce only heat and water when driven. They can travel up to 700 kilometres on a single tank and can be refuelled in a few minutes.

Mike Copson, Hydrogen Business Development Manager at Shell, said: “We’re delighted to be opening a new refuelling site at Shell Beaconsfield, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to hydrogen as a vital part of the UK’s future transport system. Bringing hydrogen under the canopy for the first time is a fantastic step towards making it a convenient and viable fuel choice for UK drivers.”

The hydrogen station at Beaconsfield is the fifth hydrogen refuelling site in the UK to be supplied by ITM Power and will be the first to be opened as part of the H2ME project. The initiative has been partially funded by the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU), and the UK’s Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).

Dr. Graham Cooley, CEO of ITM Power, said: “ITM Power is pleased to open this new hydrogen station in Beaconsfield which is the first to sit on the main forecourt, alongside the petrol and diesel pumps. This shows a big step forward in offering Shell customers a clean, green fuel, which is generated on-site, eliminating fuel deliveries. We look forward to working alongside Shell to deploy further stations and grow the hydrogen refuelling infrastructure in the UK.”

FCH JU Executive Director Bart Biebuyck said: “The FCH JU is proud to see its support significantly boosting market entry of hydrogen technologies for clean mobility. The opening of this new station at the Beaconsfield forecourt proves that hydrogen is now even more the fuel of the future, and is ready to offer an everyday green solution to citizens. We need to continue building on these achievements, and enable the transition towards a low-carbon transport system.”

Today’s hydrogen station opening follows a number of recent Shell initiatives to support the UK’s transition to low-carbon transport. These include the launch of Shell ReCharge, Shell’s on-forecourt rapid electric vehicle charging service; an agreement with charging network operator IONITY to offer charge points across ten European countries; and the acquisition of NewMotion, one of Europe’s largest electric vehicle charging networks.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

FACTS ABOUT HYDROGEN AS A TRANSPORT FUEL:
• Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) can help reduce emissions and address air pollution while offering convenience for motorists.
o FCEVs are powered by electricity and only produce water vapour, helping to improve local air quality.
o FCEVs do not produce CO2, or other harmful emissions from their tailpipe.
o Hydrogen technology has potential to store energy easily.
o Energy is stored in compressed hydrogen fuel, rather than in a battery.
• In the longer term, hydrogen in transport can help reduce well-to-wheel CO2 emissions from the transport sector if the electricity that creates the hydrogen is generated by renewable technologies such as wind or solar.
• For hydrogen electric transport to succeed, vehicle manufacturers, fuel suppliers and governments need to work together. There is a need for more hydrogen vehicles to be available as well as sufficient refuelling infrastructure to attract customers. Businesses also require incentives to build this infrastructure.

SHELL AND HYDROGEN:
• In addition to two hydrogen sites in the UK, Shell has a growing number of hydrogen sites in California, and is part of a joint venture in Germany which aims to open a network of up to 400 hydrogen sites by 2023. Shell is also assessing the potential of future projects in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Austria, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
• Shell is a founding member of the Hydrogen Council, announced at Davos in January 2017, comprising energy companies, OEMs and technology partners with a collective pledge to accelerate investment in the development and commercialisation of the hydrogen and fuel cell sectors.

About ITM Power plc
ITM Power manufactures integrated hydrogen energy solutions which are rapid response and high pressure that meet the requirements for grid balancing and energy storage services, and for the production of clean fuel for transport, renewable heat and chemicals. ITM Power plc was admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 2004. The Company received £4.9m as a strategic investment from JCB in March 2015. The Company signed a forecourt siting agreement with Shell in September 2015. The Company currently has £33.3m of projects under contract and a further £5.5m of contracts in the final stages of negotiation constituting a total backlog of £38.9m (subject to exchange rate variation).

About the FCH JU
The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) is a unique public-private partnership supporting research, technological development and demonstration activities in fuel cell and hydrogen energy technologies in Europe. Its aim is to accelerate the market introduction of these technologies, realising their potential as an instrument in achieving a carbon-lean energy system. The three members of the FCH JU are the European commission; the fuel cell and hydrogen industries, represented by the NEW industry grouping; and the research community, represented by research grouping N.ERGHY. This project has received funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 671438. This joint undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Hydrogen Europe, and the New European Research Grouping on Fuel Cells and Hydrogen (“N.ERGHY”).
http://www.fch.europa.eu/